ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Kung fu stegosaur: Lethal fighters when necessary
• Big black holes can block new stars
• Mental rest and reflection boost learning, study suggests
• Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies
• New antidepressant: Rapid agent restores pleasure-seeking ahead of other antidepressant action
• Lab-developed intestinal organoids form mature human tissue in mice
• Journey to the center of the Earth: Geochemist uses helium and lead isotopes to gain insight into makeup of planet’s deep interior
• Researcher adds to evidence linking autism to air pollutants
• Effects of high-risk Parkinson's mutation are reversible, study in animal model suggests

Kung fu stegosaur: Lethal fighters when necessary Posted: 21 Oct 2014 08:49 AM PDT Stegosaurs might be portrayed as lumbering plant eaters, but they were lethal fighters when necessary, according to paleontologists who have uncovered new evidence of a casualty of stegosaurian combat. The evidence is a fatal stab wound in the pubis bone of a predatory allosaur. The wound -- in the conical shape of a stegosaur tail spike -- would have required great dexterity to inflict and shows clear signs of having cut short the allosaur's life.

Big black holes can block new stars Posted: 21 Oct 2014 08:07 AM PDT Massive black holes spewing out radio-frequency-emitting particles at near-light speed can block formation of new stars in aging galaxies, a study has found.

Mental rest and reflection boost learning, study suggests Posted: 20 Oct 2014 06:27 PM PDT A new study, which may have implications for approaches to education, finds that brain mechanisms engaged when people allow their minds to rest and reflect on things they've learned before may boost later learning.

Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies Posted: 20 Oct 2014 06:23 PM PDT Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears. By demonstrating the importance of the protein, called NT3, in maintaining communication between the ears and brain, these new findings pave the way for research in humans that could improve treatment of hearing loss caused by noise exposure and normal aging.

New antidepressant: Rapid agent restores pleasure-seeking ahead of other antidepressant action Posted: 20 Oct 2014 07:50 AM PDT A drug being studied as a fast-acting mood-lifter restored pleasure-seeking behavior independent of -- and ahead of -- its other antidepressant effects. Within 40 minutes after a single infusion of ketamine, treatment-resistant depressed bipolar disorder patients experienced a reversal of a key symptom -- loss of interest in pleasurable activities -- which lasted up to 14 days. Brain scans traced the agent's action to boosted activity in areas at the front and deep in the right hemisphere of the brain.

Lab-developed intestinal organoids form mature human tissue in mice Posted: 19 Oct 2014 12:18 PM PDT Researchers have successfully transplanted 'organoids' of functioning human intestinal tissue grown from pluripotent stem cells in a lab dish into mice -- creating an unprecedented model for studying diseases of the intestine. Scientists said that, through additional translational research, the findings could eventually lead to bioengineering personalized human intestinal tissue to treat gastrointestinal diseases.

Journey to the center of the Earth: Geochemist uses helium and lead isotopes to gain insight into makeup of planet’s deep interior Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:40 AM PDT A geochemist studying Samoan volcanoes has found evidence of the planet's early formation still trapped inside Earth. Known as hotspots, volcanic island chains such as Samoa can ancient primordial signatures from the early solar system that have somehow survived billions of years.

Researcher adds to evidence linking autism to air pollutants Posted: 15 Oct 2014 08:21 AM PDT Pollution's impact on autism rates in North Carolina is similar to results of previous pollution autism studies in California, a new study reports. This report is has added to a growing body of evidence that links autism to air pollutants such as those generated by cars and trucks.

Effects of high-risk Parkinson's mutation are reversible, study in animal model suggests Posted: 15 Oct 2014 06:04 AM PDT Researchers have found vital new evidence on how to target and reverse the effects caused by one of the most common genetic causes of Parkinson's.

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